


mutual feelings

by flamebirds



Series: one shots [24]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:28:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26362687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamebirds/pseuds/flamebirds
Summary: Being a hero means stopping crime, right? And seeing some random blonde sneaking into a building in the dead of night, making sure to stay out of sight despite her very colourful costume... is Artemis really to be blamed for assuming that she was the bad guy? Breaking and entering is objectively suspicious (though, judging from Batman, there might be a little leeway if you're a vigilante. More information is needed in that regard) and when you're doing it in a costume, in Gotham of all places, it's only natural to expect the worst.
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Bette Kane
Series: one shots [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901311
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	mutual feelings

**Author's Note:**

> So this is happening, like, a week before "Down The Rabbit Hole/ ... And Into Wonderland". Artemis hasn't joined the team & is just working as a vigilante in Gotham. Bette's just up to her usual schtick. Both are dumb idiots. I stay on brand.

This is not going as Artemis had planned.

Which, okay, _story of her life_ at this point, but this is a little more than usual. Things go down bad for her, maybe something explodes, and she skulks back home, still hellbent on being a hero and maybe just a _little_ exhausted from the night's activities.

 _So._ Being a hero means stopping crime, right? And seeing some random blonde sneaking into a building in the dead of night, making sure to stay out of sight despite her very colourful costume... is Artemis really to be blamed for assuming that she was the bad guy? Breaking and entering is objectively suspicious (though, judging from Batman, there might be a little leeway if you're a vigilante. More information is needed in that regard) and when you're doing it in a costume, in Gotham of all places, it's only _natural_ to expect the worst.

Really, this is Flamebird's fault. Up until now, Artemis hadn't even heard of her ━━ how's she expected to recognize every random vigilante running around the city? The least this girl could do is wear a recognizable symbol (see: the arrow on Artemis's chest, used to signify how she's a totally good guy, nothing weird about her) but _no,_ she just has to go for bright colours that pop out and the ability to be eerily stealthy despite her questionable costume.

And if it wasn't for her being so shady, maybe Artemis wouldn't have followed her inside. And if Artemis hadn't followed her inside, successful snuck up on her, and tried to subdue her, then it's entirely possible that neither of them would be trapped inside a closet, trying to breathe as quietly as possible, because outside that thin door of wood, happens to be one of Gotham's worst villains.

Artemis has been trying to stay away from the big leagues and Black Mask definitely falls under that list. She's _going_ to go after him at some point... but it was never supposed to be this soon. And definitely not with a fellow blonde in spandex pressed up against her.

Artemis glares at Flamebird, more than a little mad about their current situation. How the hell is she supposed to be the good guy when stuff like this keeps happening? It's like the entire universe has it out for her, like the cosmos has gathered up together just to spite her. All she wants to do is be better than her family. It doesn't seem like much to ask for, in her opinion, and she thought she was doing an okay job of it up until now.

Mainly because, now, she's probably gonna get murdered by a crime boss.

But, hey, maybe that'll be enough to get Jade to come home.

"Stop glaring at me", Flamebird huffs, her voice barely audible. "It's your fault we're in this mess."

 _"My_ fault?!" Artemis hisses. "How the hell is this _my_ fault?"

"If you hadn't jumped me━━"

"If you hadn't broken in here!"

"I was getting evidence!" She scowls. "Because some of us actually know what we're doing."

"Oh _sure",_ Artemis snarks. _"That's_ why we're here. Because little miss perfect clearly knows what she's doing."

"You are insufferable", Flamebird replies, gripping some kind of Batarang in her hand. "Do you even know how to throw a punch?"

"I can guarantee I can throw a better one than you, princess."

She scoffs. "You wish, you Speedy-wannabe."

"I am going to break your fa━━"

Her sentence gets cut off by Flamebird clamping her hand down on her mouth, shooting her an icy glare as footsteps pass by the closet. There's a moment of bated breathe, the chilling belief that they're going to be found, before the steps start to recede, and they're once more left alone in the silence.

"Okay", Flamebird breathes out, "we need to get outta here. I could hoist you up to the window?"

Artemis looks above her. The skylight is big enough for her to manoeuvre through... "You strong enough for that?"

Something a little like a laugh passes through her pursed lips. "Let's just say I don't skip arm day."

Artemis gives her a once over, and while she can't outright say that Flamebird is wrong, she's also not one hundred per cent on board with leaving her life in the hands (literally) of a total stranger. If they make too much noise, if Flamebird drops her, then it's game over for the both of them.

"Are you sure?"

"Doubting me, sunshine?" Flamebird replies. "Don't. I've got this."

Artemis lets out a little sigh, but the matter of the fact is, they don't have much of a choice right now. They could wait for everybody to leave the building, but that could take forever and she is really not a fan of her mom finding out what she's been doing. It's best that it stay a secret, something just for her, than another thing for her family to tear apart.

There's no doubt in her mind that her father would not approve of this. Not the vigilantism, not the need to do good and certainly not the 'getting trapped in a closet with a stranger'. God, she can practically hear his lecture already...

Flamebird interlocks her fingers, offering Artemis something to stand on, and she does, half expecting the girl to let her down immediately.

She doesn't. She stays steady the entire time, lifting Artemis up high enough until she can reach the skylight.

Artemis pulls herself upwards, muscles aching as she makes it to the outside. The air is cold against her midriff (note to self: question crop top), but she's out of that godforsaken closet.

Now all she's gotta do is get Flamebird out as well.

She leans down, hand stretched out to reach her. "What're you waiting for?"

Flamebird _pouts._ Actually, genuinely, pouts at her, and Artemis hates how adorable it is. "I was thinking about staying. Someone's gotta do the stakeout."

"Are you insane?" She yells in a whisper. "If they catch you, they're dead."

"Only if!" She replies, her tone light and breezy. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

Artemis looks at her, at that determination burning like a flame in her icy blue eyes. The goggle can't even begin to hide it, that flicker that tells her exactly how hellbent she is on this.

It's that same spark that makes her decision for her, and Artemis begins to lower herself back into the tiny closet. She is not going to be beaten by somebody who dresses like that, no way. And that's the only reason, she swears.

Because she shouldn't be worried about somebody this annoying, this stubborn, getting themselves into trouble. If anything happened, it wouldn't be on Artemis. It'd be on her and her stupid decision to stay behind. 

So she drops herself down, back into the tiny closet. Her landing is soft, barely making a sound, but she's surprised that Flamebird's annoyance isn't audible.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Helping", Artemis says coolly. "Stakeouts are boring when you do them on your own."

"I━━"

"You're stuck with me", Artemis says, shifting herself against the wall. "Deal with it."

Flamebird glares at her. "I _hate_ you."

"I know, princess. Feeling's mutual."

And if it isn't, if Artemis happens to find herself appreciating those icy blue eyes... well, nobody's gotta know. It's not like they're gonna see each other again after this.

(Which, Artemis will come to know, is a bold assumption, especially when Bette Kane stares at her with those very same eyes, promising her a tour of Gotham Academy and accidentally pulling her down a whole new rabbit hole).


End file.
